Memeorandum

June 25, 2010

Then I Apologize To My Readers, Too

Dave Weigel apologizes to his readers - apparently he has been blasting Matt Drudge, Byron York, and "Paultards" over on Ezra Klein's Journolist, an off-the record lefties-only talking points club. The Other McCain remains in his corner; Will Collier has read enough.

Let me just cite the "Paultard" bit of the Weigel apology. First, Weigel repeats his own email:

- "It's all very amusing to me. Two hundred screaming Ron Paul
fanatics couldn't get their man into the Fox News New Hampshire GOP
debate, but Fox News is pumping around the clock to get Paultard Tea
Party people on TV."

And the apology:

I stand by this, although I apologize if people find the word
"Paultard" offensive. It was a neologism coined
during the 2008 campaign to describe fanatical supporters of Paul -- I
used it in this case to convey how Fox covered those supporters in 2008.

"If" people find it offensive? C'mon, it is intended to be offensive. Does anyone think the "tard" ending conveys fanaticism? In fact, I will Boldly Guess it is drawn from "retard", as in "mental retard". As to the notion that it is a neologism, well, it is true that no one was calling anyone a Paultard back on the playgrounds I recall from my youth, but so what?

Right then, on to my apology - from time to time I have linked to Dave Weigel, prompting some commenters to complain that I am wasting time on a poseur libtard (Ooops! Another apology point! IF anyone finds that offensive.) My bad - he is, and I was.

THEN I'LL SETTLE FOR SECOND BEST. IF THERE IS ONE: Brad DeLong defends Weigel as a misunderstood libertarian who is still "the best reporter covering the conservative movement".

Hmmph. Bobby Jindal was mooted as a VP possibility back in 2008, is a rising star, and has been visible in leading Louisana's response to the gulf oil spill disaster. So how many posts on Jindal has "the best reporter covering the conservative movement" delivered in the last few months while scrambling for new angles? That didn't take long - none.

Poll: New Jersey likes Chris Christie, splits on whether he's a
'leader' or a 'bully'

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) is winning the political press's attention
for his leadership in the Gulf Coast, but Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.)
has, not so quietly, become probably the biggest gubernatorial hero of
the right. YouTube clips (some collected by Christie's own office) that
show him lighting into Democrats, teachers' unions, and journalists
critical of his style.

"I'm inspired by what Governor Christie said about the teachers
unions in New Jersey," economist John Taylor said last night, accepting a
Bradley Prize, a stamp of approval for conservative intellectuals. "He
called them bullies. 'They punch you, I punch them.'"

The latest Quinnipiac
Poll, however, shows that Christie's confrontations, coupled with a
steady drumbeat of criticism from unions, have voters split on whether
he's doing a good job and whether he's a "bully" -- that is, by and
large, they oppose the cuts he's campaigning for.

Gee, a Republican governor in a long time blue state is not universally beloved. Let's press on:

If you're not keeping tabs on this, here's the latest quasi-viral
Christie video, from a town hall meeting where he informs voters that
the "day of reckoning" has come. Without being too glib about the
comparison, it really is a bizzarro version of an Obama town hall in
which the president takes aim at Republicans and corporate America.

So if you are an angry New Jersey voter who thinks taxes are too high and the public sector is out of control, you are in "bizarro" world?

Weigel's role was to provide daily reassurance to libs that no matter the deficiencies of their own side, the other guys were worse. I am sure that in that role he may have been "the best".

Meanwhile, I need to start reading the second-best reporter covering the right wing.

I gratefully accept your apology for linking to the libtard and I REFUSE to apologize for that "neologism:....btw if I hit enough playgrounds and utilize the LIBTARD reference perhaps within a decade or two it will indeed no longer be a NEOLOGISM it will be a FACT, though to Conservative children it already is....LOL!

I find it hilarious that ANYONE finds reporters in the Post to be kind to Conservatives at all. They have moved from left to hardleft in their "Republican" brand of idiot!

It's beyond hilarious that this harmless bit caused him to explode and resulted in continuing journolist leakages that reveal his agenda-driven advocacy masquerading as coverage. I particularly liked: “my reporting, I think, stands for itself.” Yes, it probably does . . . but it's nice to have a little background nonetheless.

I wonder if the JournoList folks ought to have a trademark? Perhaps a little KK superscript in their byline?

OK, I will cop to having giggled at "Paultard", especially when I was campaigning for McCain in 2008. But generally I used "Ronulian" because the former is, well, kind of obnoxious, and you don't win friends by being needlessly pejorative.

Jane, I suppose because in a way (slightly worse than David Brooks) the media keeps hiring anti-conservative morons to report to their anti-conservative moron readers in a perfectly prejudiced way what the conservatives are thinking/doing so as to insure they are not swayed to jump ship.

And we don't like it,

Plus, there's something really satisfying about watching a self-important twit cut his own throat. And then there's the delicious aspect that he was done in my folks he considered his buddies on Journolist.

Didn't Journolist people claim that Journolist was disbanded long ago when the first flap about it emerged? I can't remember. Am I mixing it up with Townhall? Not Townhall.com the righty site but Townhall the lefty listserv that I think predates Journolist, or was the prequel to it, or something.

I loved this headline from a blogger I had never heard of: "Pop goes the Weigel."

Such a nice boy. He went to a HuffPo party last night and got introduced for the first time to one of the 2 FishbowlDC bloggers who first broke his emails - and refused to shake her hand! Today, after resigning, he headed to straight to HuffPo offices to cry on their shoulders (and drop off his resume?).

That was my first reaction, too Neo. But, now, I am finding this highly entertaining. We learn from Ezra (the creator of JournoList) that Tucker Carlson had been trying really hard to get on the list (they declined to add him). Now, the first leak wasn't to Tucker's Daily Caller, but to Mediabistro's FishBowl DC. Tucker got additional leaks after that.

A LEAKER in JournoList! Oh, the horror! Ezra is quickly trying to delete, erase, and wipe clean his liberal media forum. Why is that I wonder? Has the leaker leaked more about others? Well, seems like some folks are sweating bullets that may be the case.

It was ironic, in a way, that it would be the Daily Caller that published e-mails from Journolist. A few weeks ago, its editor, Tucker Carlson, asked if he could join the list. After asking other members, I said no, that the rules had worked so far to protect people, and the members weren't comfortable changing them.

Yeah, ironic that he could've sworn Tucker to secrecy, and instead is now trying to blame him for violating an agreement he's not a party to. But for true irony, we have to go to Weigel himself in a comment section:

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to my rewarding job and large circle of friends.

"I wonder if the WaPo will look for an actual conservative to replace him."

They may, but could the recognize one if they found one?

The short answer is no, they cannot. They are all part of the liberal borg. They are incapable of recognizing, understanding or communicating a thought that the borg would find to be uncomfortable.

If Tucker Carlson, wants access to the journolist, and it would be fascinating to see the borg's ruminations, the best and easiest way to get it would be by hacking. I recommend checking the WaPo IT department. Surely, there is someone there who can tap a feed for you, in exchange for a small payment. On the other hand it is not a big upside. Eventually they belch out their talking points and you will have them by mid morning from multiple sources.